The Pure Hammersmith student accommodation development on Shepherd’s Bush Road reached a key milestone this week, with the arrival on site of the first of the modular bedroom ‘pods’ being used in the scheme.

Construction and infrastructure company Morgan Sindall is constructing the £26 million Make-designed scheme on the former Hammersmith Palais site for Pure Student Living, a joint venture between the Carlyle Group and Generation Estates.

Inside each prefabricated pod is a finished, ready-to-use studio, complete with furniture and fittings. The pods will be installed and fitted on site by the Morgan Sindall team and will remain sealed until the project completes, ready for students to take up residence in September.

The scheme will provide accommodation for 418 students, while the ground floor and basement levels of the building will create 23,000 sq ft of leisure space, to be used by the local community. The studio pods, which are produced by Caledonian Modular, will form three separate student accommodation blocks of between four and nine storeys.

Steve Still, Morgan Sindall project manager, said: “It’s very exciting to have reached this key stage in the construction of the Pure Hammersmith development and to be taking delivery of these innovative student pods. “The pods are like giant Lego pieces which are slotted together by the project team to create a whole block. Using a modular method is perfect for projects like this, where quality can’t be compromised but time is at a premium.”

Justin Nicholls, Partner at Make Architects, said: “It is great to be delivering an off-site manufactured building - it makes complete sense to fabricate buildings in factories - it's safer, faster, less wasteful and to a higher quality.” The new buildings will include a number of key sustainable elements, including the rooftops of the three blocks being planted with vegetation, providing an attractive sustainable ‘green roof’.